Balendra Shah’s party moves closer to achieving a historic supermajority in the Nepal election

Vote counting is ongoing in Nepal as Balendra Shah’s Rastriya Swatantra Party approaches a historic parliamentary supermajority.

Vote counting is ongoing in Nepal as the party led by rapper and former Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah approaches the achievement of a historic parliamentary supermajority.

The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) is on the brink of securing a two-thirds majority in parliament, a milestone that would represent the first instance in decades of a single political party attaining such significant control in the nation’s legislature.

Nepal’s electoral system integrates direct constituency elections with proportional representation, which has historically posed challenges for any single party to achieve an outright majority.

If confirmed, the RSP’s victory would signify a significant change in the nation’s political landscape.

The 35-year-old Shah achieved a notable personal triumph by overcoming former prime minister KP Sharma Oli in Jhapa-5, a constituency historically considered a political bastion for the former leader.

The outcome has successfully paved the way for Shah to assume the role of Nepal’s next prime minister.

Throughout the nation, Shah’s supporters have been rejoicing over the election results, congregating in the streets to cheer and ring bells, which is the election symbol utilized by the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) during the campaign.

Six months after extensive youth protests led to the overthrow of Oli’s government, the election took place on March 5.

The protests were fueled by the discontent of young individuals regarding the dominance of elite political figures, nepotism, corruption, and the increasing gap in economic equality.

The protests escalated to deadly confrontations, ultimately compelling the government to resign.

The Election Commission of Nepal has announced the results for 164 out of the 165 first-past-the-post seats.

The counting of votes for proportional representation is currently in progress.

Election officials report that over 10.3 million proportional representation votes have been counted to date, with an estimated 500,000 to 600,000 ballots remaining to be tallied.

The commission’s information officer, Suman Ghimire, expects the counting process to conclude by Tuesday evening local time.

It may take as long as four days for the commission to officially announce the final election results.

Meanwhile, the focus has shifted to the unfinished parliament building in Nepal.

Officials have indicated that while the building is still under construction, a conference hall within the complex is anticipated to be ready for the upcoming oath-taking ceremony and opening parliamentary session in the next few weeks.

Scaffolding and cranes remain in sight around the building as the nation readies itself for a new parliament led by Shah’s party.

The former parliament building suffered fire damage amid the youth-led protests that took place last year.

Current projections indicate that the RSP may obtain approximately 125 of the 165 seats designated for direct voting.

The party is anticipated to secure around 58 of the 110 seats allocated via proportional representation.

A two-thirds majority in the legislature necessitates a minimum of 184 seats, indicating that the party could be only one seat away from reaching that threshold.

The emergence of a potential “supermajority” has ignited discussions regarding the RSP’s possible efforts to modify the nation’s constitution.

Throughout the campaign, the party made several promises regarding reforms, which included modifications to Nepal’s federal structure and alterations to the election process for national leaders.

Nonetheless, implementing constitutional changes right away would be difficult.

Although the RSP is poised to take control of the lower house of parliament, Nepal’s constitution mandates a two-thirds majority in both legislative houses for the approval of constitutional amendments.

The upper chamber, referred to as the National Assembly of Nepal, is chosen through an electoral college consisting of provincial assembly members and local government representatives, rather than through a direct popular vote.

Consequently, the RSP presently does not possess the necessary numbers in the National Assembly to independently advance constitutional reforms.